Pokémon GO events for October 2020

Niantic has announced what’s in store for its hit game Pokémon GO next month. Not only will players see some Halloween content, there are also several other events, such as World Cap Pikachu, that players won’t want to miss! Read the full details below:

Halloween, a fashion-themed event, and more—read on to learn about what’s happening in the world of Pokémon GO in October.

October Research Breakthrough encounter

From Thursday, October 1, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7) to Sunday, November 1, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PST (GMT −8), Shedinja, the Shed Pokémon, will be available as a Research Breakthrough encounter.

A month of different Legendary Raid Bosses!

Look forward to challenging different Legendary Raid Bosses throughout October!

    • From Friday, September 25, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Friday, October 2, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7), Zapdos will be available to challenge in five-star raids.
    • From Friday, October 2, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Friday, October 9, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7), Moltres will be available to challenge in five-star raids.
    • From Friday, October 9, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. to Friday, October 23, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7), Origin Forme Giratina will be available to challenge in five-star raids. If you’re lucky, you might encounter a Shiny one!
    • Stay tuned for details about a special Raid Boss that’ll be available to challenge during our Halloween event!

Each week in October, there’ll be a Raid Hour event on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. local time featuring that week’s Legendary Raid Boss in five-star raids.

Pokémon Spotlight Hours

In the month of October, Pokémon Spotlight Hour will take place every Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. local time, and each hour will spotlight a different Pokémon and special bonus!

    • Tuesday, October 6, 2020: World Cap Pikachu will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the XP for catching Pokémon.
    • Tuesday, October 13, 2020: Original Cap Pikachu will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the Candy for catching Pokémon.
    • Tuesday, October 20, 2020: Shuppet will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the Candy for transferring Pokémon.
    • Tuesday, October 27, 2020: Duskull will be in the spotlight, and you’ll earn twice the XP for evolving Pokémon.

October Limited Research featuring Alolan Meowth!

On Saturday, October 10, 2020, from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. local time, you can complete exclusive Field Research tasks to encounter Meowth originally discovered in Kanto, Alola, and Galar! Look forward to exclusive Timed Research, and check the shop for a box available featuring Incense, Pinap Berries, and Lucky Eggs!

Fashion-themed event

Don’t forget—in celebration of the Longchamp x Pokémon collaboration, a fashion-themed event will take place from Friday, October 2, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. to Thursday, October 8, 2020, at 10:00 p.m. PDT (GMT −7).

Other upcoming events

October has a lot more in store! For Halloween, you can expect new avatar items, a Halloween-themed cup for GO Battle League Season 4, and the annual Halloween event! There’ll also be an event celebrating Niantic’s anniversary and the changing of seasons. Stay tuned for more details!

I’m probably most excited for the Longchamp collab myself! We did cover that earlier, so don’t miss the details for that event. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or join the 24/7 discussion in our Discord server!